Creative Souls Greek Myth art swap

Pandora ATC by Jeanne Draachreider

As soon I heard there was a Greek Mythology art-card swap over at Creative Souls,  I just had to play along. Good thing I did - now this lovely collage from Jeanne Draachreider is in my collection. I've been playing so much in the digital realm lately that it was with great pleasure that I opened Jeanne's puffy package! The pillar and grape vine add a fantastic 3-d element to this lovely card. They even  grow on the backside.

Pandora ATC back by Jeanne Draachreider

Now how cool is that

Perhaps it was fate that Pandora found her way into my mailbox... as the ATC I send to Jeanne was of Pyrrha, Pandora's daughter:

Pyrrha ACEO

If you've been around these parts for a while you might remember this piece from the Artarazzi mix-orange-&-Waterhouse challenge back in '09. If not, here is a bit of info about the daughter of Pandora:

Child of Pandora, Pyrrha was also the niece (& daughter in law) of Prometheus. When Zeus decided at the end of the Bronze Age to flood the world, Pyrrha & her husband Deucallion built an ark, survived & repopulated the world by tossing rocks over their shoulders. The rocks became the next generation. For more info, here is a link to her wiki page. 

The plan had been to create something new for Jeanne, but life caught up with me. Instead I embellished a print with markers and inks before sending it off. A nice bonus.... this challenge finally made me get around to printing some of my digital art, something I have been procrastinating for a loooong time. So, double thanks to you, Jeanne!

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A quick note: Last chance to enter the eye-spy contest. Identify the pieces which feature the eyes in last Friday's post. The person with the most correct answers by 8/12 will win a print. Click here for image & details.

Also any comment on this blog before 8/18 enters you in the random drawing for a Mary Shelley ACEO . Click here for details & photo.

Michael DeMeng online class starts 1/11/11

A few years ago I was in an art-book group. We would pick a book, read a chapter, create something & then share our pieces. We had a lot of fun with Michael DeMeng's Secrets of Rusty Things, a fabulous book by the way - great projects but also an entertaining read.

 

Secrets of Rusty Things: Transforming Found Objects into Art

Last week I sold a piece that I'd made for that group on the same day I heard about DeMeng's Art Lab, a series of online workshops. 

If I Were A King funky flower vase - Sold

The first  topic, Color Washes, begins January 11th.  I'm a big fan of this artist's palette. Many of his pieces have a wonderful recently-excavated feel... but with an otherworldy twist, like relics from Atlantis. I also need a creative kick in the pants now & then. So this sounded like the perfect place to spend my new found wealth.

 

Registration is still open. Find details at MichaelDeMeng.blogspot.com. While you are there, be sure to have a look around. It is one of my favorite blogs featuring lots of cool art  - plus great posts on some of my favorite topics like alchemy, Golems, Faust and many other goodies.

Want to save a few bucks on the Color Washes workshop? Become a member of CreativeSouls on ning and then register through their link: http://creativesouls.ning.com/forum/topics/michael-demeng-online-class .  Creative Souls members who use that link pay $35.95 instead of $39.95 for the class.  If you are already a member, just follow the link. 

Not yet a member of Creative Souls? Come out & play with us! Just visit CreativeSouls.ning.com & sign up. It is a cool meeting place for all sorts of imaginative folks. There is all kinds of  entertaining stuff going on over there - from copyright free vintage images to digital  art  discussions, marketing advice to contests & everything in between.

Founded by the wonderful artist Izabella, Creative Souls is "A diverse gathering of creative souls, a place to help promote each other. Discover new & interesting people. ~ALL creative people welcome~". So c'mon. What'cha waiting for? Pop on by & see what is going on.

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Change of topic: If you are in this part of the blog-o-sphere tomorrow stop by for Part 2 of the interview with bead artist Meredith Dada. If you missed Part 1 click here.

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Have you entered the new random drawing? On 12/30 one lucky winner takes home a 100 pc art supplies set. Click here for details & photo of prize

speak no evil

speak no evil - work in progress

As I've mentioned before, when I don't have time to make stuff I get cranky. Well... cranky is an understatement. Since my mother always told me "If you don't have anything nice to say then say nothing at all" (advice I rarely heed, I must admit) the Speak No Evil Self Portrait challenge over at Creative Souls seemed a perfect fit today.

I only had about 45 minutes tonight, so I decided to shut out the world & see what happened next. The above digital collage combines an altered photo of a cocooning caterpillar, a couple of charcoal drawings, a Polaroid transfer & some basic photoshop elements tweaks. Yes, it is a bit meh - but I think it has potential as a sketch for something better

....And I'm (a little) less cranky :D

By the way, if the Creative Souls challenge link doesn't work for you, it may be because you are not a member. So why aren't you?? It is fun, free & easy to join. Simply sign up over at CreativeSouls.ning.com. Got imagination? Welcome aboard!

RTT- HC SVNT DRACONES

Here Be Dragons - Work in progress

Still working on a piece for last Wednesday's Mix It Up With Melange challenge to "use your favorite quote". I am a major quote geek & started several pieces before finally settling on this 1. Made some silly mistakes so I learned a lot today. My pigment inks were acting all wonky but I finally solved the problem with help from the site Art Without Anxiety .

This project has been fun though. Got to use some brass bits from my UK art-buddy, Julia. She sent me a wonderful package last month. A fun ATC with cool wooden stand. A bag of watch mechanisms & bits. Plus HobNobs (my favorites!) Thanks Julia!!

Work in progress

Hope to finish the quote box & post sometime Wednesday.Meantime, let 's see what else is up.....

Recently joined another ATC swap, this 1 over at Outsider Artists. If you like your art with a touch of the dark side, it may be just the place for you. I popped over there tonight & found out that one of my favorite artists (& one of the sweetest people I've ever "met" online), Izabella, has a 5 page spread in the Fall issue of Artful Blogging. I'm off to track down a copy ASAP. In the meantime you can get a sneak-peek here.

Izabella also runs the online artists' community Creative Souls - has an eclectic membership which also includes writers musicians & other creative folks. Worth checking out if you've not been there before - hey it's free. Who knows you might run into Michael deMeng or Richard Salley or some other fascinating members while nosing around

Hmmm.....sorry about the lack of Random. It is the tail end of Random Tuesday Thoughts today. Got my mind on my project & I bet the glaze has set.... so need to get back to it. For a greater variety of Random Thoughts click the button ... go on ....

and be magically transported to the chaotic realm of Keely The Un Mom and her vast hoard of arbitrary acolytes!!!